Gord Peteran: Furniture Meets its Maker

By Glen Adamson, Gary Michael Dault, Gord Peteran

Gord Peteran, an artist living in Toronto, has been designing site-specific works of public art and furniture for the past 25 years. His innovative work has been shown in many exhibitions in the U.S. and Canada. Peteran describes woodworking and metalworking as his "paints and brushes. They possess the appropriate physical resistance and wield the kind of sensual, visual impact that allow my investigations to become real." Gord Peteran: Furniture Meets its Maker catalogs the first large exhibit of his work, traveling from Milwaukee to four other museums in the U.S. and Canada.

Best of Show, In-HOWse Design Competition, How Magazine

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0944110843
• ISBN13: 9780944110843
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Milwaukee Art Museum
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 1.18 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.0" x 0.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Worlds within worlds

Just as Gord Peteran is no ordinary furniture maker, this is no ordinary 'flip through once, tuck it away on the shelf' book. Gord's work is rich in symbolism and skilfully crafted, from a wide variety of materials and with many underlying concepts beyond the inherent functionality of furniture. This beautiful catalogue of his work, created for his travelling exhibition through the Milwaukee Art Museum, encompasses rough sketches, meticulous renderings, excellent photographs, personal musings, and Potent Quotes - also his fabulous and very funny "Top 10 Shop Rules". The photography of the work is exquisite, offering both overviews, detail shots, and 'in situ' examples, and the many gate-fold layouts allow far larger views of individual pieces that might initially be surmised by the small scale of the book. There are also a wide variety of essays and abstractions regarding his work and its place in the pantheon of Studio Furniture making, as well as observations into each of the individual works featured. The first edition (2500 units) of the catalogue itself is also a wonderful piece of bookbinders art and design, and features an unusual cover binding, a rich array of papers, and it begs to be explored in in its own right.

See the Exhibit, Buy the Book

Gord Peteran is a fine craftsman with an even finer sense of visual playfulness. Furniture is not usually smile-producing, but the premier exhibit of his works, Furniture Meets Its Maker, does just that. Massive doors become canvasses and wood scraps from the workshop floor become tables. Peteran terms his work "furnitural" - a nod to the sculptural element in what he does. The book is a wonderful thing. The long foldout pages allow the viewer to enjoy the details of his craft and the text reflects the artist's obvious capriciousness. The paper is of a fine quality and adds to the pleasure of this volume. See the works in person while you can, and get the book to continue the enjoyment.